I've been to a lot of places, both cities and wilderness. In every place, one can feel the soul of the environment and the people who inhabit it. Unfortunately, Glacier National Park is not a place I recommend: her soul is haunting and her services are non-existent.
We saw the lodges of Glacier National Park as well as the landscape on a Discovery Channel program, and became intrigued with it. Bordering Canada, it is situated in a remote part of Montana that is neither easy to get to, nor remarkable upon arriving. Although the Glacier Park Lodge appears to be an amazing lodge of the early 20th century, it is so outdated and in such delapidated shape that it is a disaster to stay in. Too narrow polyester fake Indian prints hang as draperies and more polyester blends cover the beds and furniture. The interiors are not worthy of her architecture and setting, but people stopped caring about her long ago. Furthermore, the service is deplorable and the management is the worst I've ever encountered. They were not intelligent and very inexperienced and most difficult to work with. It would have been better not to stay in the Park than to have stayed at Glacier Park Lodge. While the Many Glacier Lodge is highly touted as the "Mini Switzerland of America", it is a complete misnomer and could not be farther from the truth. It too is terribly in need of a renovation and it shares the same management as Glacier Park Lodge. Do not stay in any hotels managed by the Glacier Park Lodging: you will throw money down the drain.
If your idea of fun is to sit in a chair in front of a picture window and drink Huckleberry Cream Soda while playing dominoes with some people you just met in the parking lot, then you might enjoy the Glacier Park Hotels. If your idea of good food is overpriced and overcooked slop, then you might enjoy the Glacier Park Hotels. If your idea of a good shower is a fiberglass stall smaller than a Greyhound bus toilet, then the Glacier Park Lodge is for you. If you like paper thin walls so you can hear the next door phone call at 5:30 a.m. that Helen's blood pressure medicine is not working, but Richard is fine and Julia is getting a size 12 t-shirt that glows in the dark, then you will like the Glacier Park Lodge. If you are not adverse to incompetent and unprofessional management, then the Glacier Park Lodge is for you.
As for the Park, it has a very sad and desolate feel. The Blackfeet Indian reservation borders the Park, and it is as if the terribly sad past of the Indians and their current desperate situation haunts the Park that was their home. Only a very small part of the Park is available for automobiles: most of it is only accessible by helicopter or foot. As such, it is a tourist driving tour and that certainly diminishes the appeal. However, no matter how far away from the tourists you go, the haunting, empty feeling of sadness permeates the air.
I am a big fan of our National Parks. However, Glacier National Park has a past that lingers and she is in desperate need of a major service and management overhaul. Perhaps she would be happier if we had returned her to the Blackfeet Tribe and let them guide her towards us? Perhaps both Indians and land would have been better off without us our interference and possession of this land that speaks, but not to us.
So what are the true secrets that make this Park worthwhile?
Come back next week for the second half of this article to see the recommended hotel and restaurant outside the Park that make it worthwhile.
St. Andrews from the Cathedral
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